“A part is greater than the whole;
By hints are mysteries told.”
Poems (1869), A Strip of Blue (1870)
Context: A part is greater than the whole;
By hints are mysteries told.
The fringes of eternity, —
God's sweeping garment-fold,
In that bright shred of glittering sea,
I reach out for and hold.
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Lucy Larcom 25
American teacher, poet, author 1824–1893Related quotes

“And the whole [is] greater than the part.”
Καὶ τὸ ὅλον τοῦ μέρους μεῖζον
ἐστιν
Elements, Book I, Common Notion 8 (5 in certain editions)
Cf. Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book Η 1045a 8–10: "… the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts … [πάντων γὰρ ὅσα πλείω μέρη ἔχει καὶ μὴ ἔστιν οἷον σωρὸς τὸ πᾶν]"
Euclid’s Elements

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

“The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.”
le mystère de l'amour est plus grand que le mystère de la mort.
Source: Salomé (1893)

Holism and Evolution (1926)
“Providence is a greater mystery than revelation.”
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 423.

Source: The Alphabet of Grace